Bonnie Crombie, the Mayor of Mississauga, has revealed her decision to take a temporary leave of absence as she pursues her aspiration to become the next leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.
A spokesperson representing Crombie’s Ontario Liberal leadership campaign officially confirmed this development to CTV News Toronto on Wednesday evening. Presently, it remains uncertain who will assume the responsibilities of the mayoral office during her absence.
CTV News has initiated contact with both the City of Mississauga and the Mayor’s office to obtain additional details on this matter.
Crombie launched her campaign for the leadership of the Ontario Liberals in June, asserting that she possesses the “experience and vitality” required to challenge Premier Doug Ford in the forthcoming provincial election, scheduled for the spring of 2026.
The Ontario Liberal Party has been without a permanent leader since 2022 when Stephen Del Duca resigned from the position following the provincial election defeat. John Fraser has held the interim leadership role since August 2022.
The Liberal Party is set to conduct leadership voting on November 25 and 26, with the results slated for release on December 2.
Other contenders vying for the leadership role include Liberal MPs Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre) and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York), as well as Liberal MPPs Ted Hsu (Kingston-and-the-Islands) and Adil Shamji (Don Valley East).
